Come check out our huge one-day sale at two locations. On Saturday March 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Trips for Kids is opening its San Rafael warehouse to the cycling community. At the same time, we are offering 20-50% discounts on selected items at our Re-Cyclery Bike Thrift Shop in downtown San Rafael.

Bike frames, forks, wheels, tires, helmets, bike racks, clothes, cycling shoes, and lots more will be on sale at bargain prices. Product donations from bicycle manufacturers and private donors have piled up and its time to make room for new shipments.

Proceeds from the sale will support Trips for Kids local and national mountain bike programs for underserved youth. Their outdoor adventures build self-confidence, instill a respect for nature, and introduce kids to the joy of cycling. There are fifty Trips for Kids chapters across the United States and Canada, with more on the way.

The Trips for Kids Warehouse is located at 125 Larkspur St. Suite 119, San Rafael. The Re-Cyclery Bike Thrift Shop is at 610 Fourth Street in downtown San Rafael. For more information call (415) 458-2986 or visit www.tripsforkids.org.

3/02/2007

I was randomly surfing around and stumbled across this photo of Keith Bontrager at the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. In 1994 (or was it 1993? I don't remember now) I had the pleasure of interviewing with KB in Santa Cruz for a junior engineering position (I was studying mechanical engineering in college at the time, and hoped to parlay that into a career in bike design.) KB posted a job-opening position on rec.bicycles.marketplace, and I responded favorably enough that he offered to split the cost of a plane ticket from Pittsburgh, PA to San Jose, CA. I ultimately didn't get the job (though I think I came close), but it was the most enjoyable job interview I've ever had -- a great weekend riding with KB and some of the other Bontrager Cycles employees, hanging out at the shop, meeting his family, eating my first "real" burrito, and sleeping on his living room sofa.

At any rate, I think this photo dates to around that time, and I think I've actually ridden the pictured bike. The weekend I was in Santa Cruz, I rode on Friday with KB who was on that bike, and I rode the then-bleeding-edge Merlin Soft-Tail full-sus Ti XTR rig that KB had on loan for a magazine review or similar -- that was (and probably still is) the most expensive bike I've pedaled. On that Saturday KB was busy with work, but sent me off on an afternoon ride with some of his guys, and when I asked what bike I could borrow, he pointed me at his personal ride. After I was out on the trails, one of his guys said to me "Hey, you know what you're riding, right?" and I thought that it was "merely" a silver Race Lite frame. I was wrong -- it was actually a prototype Ti Lite frame, somewhat camouflaged by the usual Bontrager top and down tube decals.

I have a sweet Bontrager Race currently, but I've always had this reoccuring hankerin' for a Ti Lite.

I also got a swell Bontrager Cycles T-shirt and cap (just like KB's), which I've still got 12+ years later, but I've worn the shirt so much that it's basically a rag at this point.